Tony put his hands on his head and took a deep breath.
He needed one, yes ONE, rational explanation right now.
In front of him stood a boy who had just been a bird, and now his eyes burned like fire.
"Jarvis, give me a logical explanation."
Jarvis replied calmly and with his usual artificial intelligence emphasis.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have a logical explanation at the moment."
Tony frowned.
"Your job is to provide logical explanations, Jarvis."
"Sir, my job is to follow your orders and analyze. But I don't have a scientific theory for something as unusual as a bird suddenly turning into a man."
Tony narrowed his eyes and put his hand on his hip.
"Great. So what do we do?"
Jarvis: "Enjoy the uncertainty?"
Tony gritted his teeth.
"Don't joke when I'm storming in, Jarvis."
He said.
The kid took a step towards Tony.
Then... another step.
And...
Pat!
He fell to the ground.
Tony opened his eyes wide. The boy was grimacing, looking at him with eyes that glowed like gold.
And...
His lower lip began to quiver.
Tony threw his hands up in the air.
"No, don't! Don't cry!"
Jarvis interjected.
"Sir, I think he's showing the reflexes of an infant."
Tony gritted his teeth.
"Jarvis, none of this is normal! Yesterday it was a bird, today it's an infant! You talk to me about 'normal child development'!"
Jarvis: "I don't have an accurate database of what is and isn't normal for you, sir."
"Jarvis."
"Sir?"
"I'm trying very hard not to hang up on you right now."
Meanwhile, the boy raised his hands, trying to reach Tony.
Tony frowned. It took him a second to realize what he was trying to do.
Jarvis stepped in.
"Sir, I think he wants to be held."
Tony frowned and looked at the boy.
His golden hair was messy, his eyes were wide and innocent... and worst of all, he had that "I'll cry if you don't pick me up" look on his face.
Tony sighed deeply.
"Are we really going to do this?"
Jarvis: "Apparently, sir."
Tony slowly bent down... and took the boy in his arms.
And at that moment a strange thing happened.
The boy put his little arms around Tony's neck.
And immediately...
Peace.
Tony didn't know how to explain it.
But the moment he held the child, some of the stress and confusion melted away.
And in that moment, Jarvis' voice echoed.
"Sir, I detected a momentary calming of your heartbeat. Interesting."
Tony looked at Orion in silence.
The boy rested his head on his shoulder and breathed deeply.
Tony frowned.
_____________
Tony Stark, not a wine glass, not a file, not a new invention.
He was holding a child.
And at no point in his life had he ever imagined himself taking care of a small child.
But there he was.
In one of his company's private rooms, with a little boy who had been a bird turned human, now grunting with joy in his arms.
Tony rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I know what that look means, you need to put some clothes on."
Tony sighed as the boy just tilted his head to the side and looked at him with big eyes.
"Jarvis, I need clothes, send a driver to one of the baby stores."
Jarvis' voice replied in his usual calm tone.
"Sir, do you have any particular brand preferences?"
"Jarvis, I know nothing about children's clothing. It's not like we're buying something that's going to look good on me. You decide for yourself."
"Understood, sir, I'll pick out a few options from luxury children's clothing brands."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"When did I make everything so fancy?"
Jarvis: "When you made your first million dollars, sir."
About forty minutes had passed. Tony had walked the little man around the office to keep him occupied, even sitting at his desk a few times and letting the boy shred his papers.
Finally, the door opened and an employee came in carrying several bags of clothes.
Tony looked at the bags.
"Did you take all this?"
"As per your instructions, sir."
Tony sighed.
"All right... Come on, little firestorm. Let's get you dressed."
10 minutes later
Tony folded his arms and looked at the boy.
The little man was wearing a soft sweater in shades of navy blue and red. And underneath, a small pair of pants.
But most importantly...
He was wearing tiny, soft slippers.
Tony frowned.
"Why did you buy those?"
Jarvis' voice echoed.
"Sir, they were one of the most recommended items in the catalog. Besides, the temperature of the floor is variable, I wanted to protect your little feet."
Tony rolled his eyes.
But the boy looked at his slippers, studying the patterns on them as he moved his feet.
And he chuckled with satisfaction.
Tony smiled without realizing it.
"Okay, keep the slippers for now."
The little boy lifted his tiny arms and reached for Tony.
Tony frowned.
"What? Not again."
The boy just kept looking at him.
Tony took a deep breath and bent down to pick him up again.
And just then, the boy rested his head comfortably on Tony's shoulder.
"Jarvis."
"Sir?"
"We need to talk about this."
___________________
Orion leaned against Tony's shoulder, his breathing slow and steady.
He was asleep.
Tony stirred slightly, moving into a position where he could more easily support the boy's weight.
Then he took a deep breath.
This scene was... completely unfamiliar to him.
But strangely, it didn't feel that bad.
Slowly, he leaned back in his seat and held Orion a little more firmly in his lap.
And finally his voice spoke in a low tone:
"Jarvis."
"Yes, sir?"
"We have a problem."
"I think we need to clarify exactly what you mean by 'we', sir."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"The two of us, Jarvis. You, me, and the tiny creature sleeping in my lap right now, once a bird, now a man, potentially capable of burning down a city."
Jarvis paused for a moment.
"Yes, sir, I see your problem."
Tony sighed.
"Now, my question is, what the hell are we going to do?"
There was a moment of silence.
Jarvis tried to put this into a logical framework.
"First, let's get the data together, sir. ****"
Tony nodded.
"I'm listening."
Jarvis projected various data and analyses onto the screen in front of Tony.
"Approximately 24 hours ago, Orion underwent a major change in its biological evolution. It altered its physical form by emitting high levels of thermal energy and is now 98.7% genetically compatible with humans."
Tony raised his eyebrows.
"So he's still 1.3% weird."
"As you say, yes, sir."
"Okay, what about his powers? His connection to fire?"
Jarvis started to run some simulations on the screen.
"According to our initial tests, the flame Orion emits is much more complex than a normal combustion reaction. In other words, it completely defies the laws of physics as we know them."
Tony looked at the data in front of him.
"So it's not just a simple lighter. I see."
Jarvis continued.
"More importantly, Orion's power is not only destructive, but also reconstructive. As you know, it first burned your hand and then healed it."
Tony nodded.
"Yes, it was certainly an experience I will never forget."
Jarvis continued.
"And that means this, sir: Orion's Flame is based on pure energy transformation. It can be used not only to destroy, but also to create."
Tony took a deep breath.
It was... it was really big.
I mean, if Orion could control that power, maybe...
"Sir, I have an important question."
Tony took his eyes off the screen and looked up.
"Ask."
"What do we do with Orion?"
Tony couldn't answer for a moment.
Jarvis continued:
"He is a child now. But as far as we know, he is a completely unnatural being. He has no identity of his own, no history, no recorded family. He is a unique biological specimen."
Tony patted Orion lightly on the shoulder.
The boy grunted slightly but continued to sleep.
Tony pressed his lips together.
What was he going to do?
Hand him over to a lab?
Leave him in the hands of a secret organization?
Something tightened inside him as he thought about it.
He couldn't do that. He couldn't do that.
Tony sighed.
"Jarvis."
"Yes, sir?"
"Orion stays here."
Jarvis paused for a moment.
"Does that mean you're going to legally adopt him, sir?"
Tony focused on Orion's sleeping face on the screen in front of him.
And for a moment he felt a warmth in his heart that he couldn't define.
"I think... I think so, Jarvis."
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